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Tumultuous past but bright future

COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN 9-17 MARCH 2018

TUMULTUOUS PAST BUT BRIGHT FUTURE

” What to visit in Medellin in one day and where to eat! ”

Today, I hope my blog post will to change your perception about Colombia in general and the city of Medellin in particular, because this travel completely changed mine. Before traveling to Colombia I had many misconceptions. I’m glad I had a chance to travel to Colombia, see it with my own eyes and experience life in this great country. Before, all I knew and heard about Colombia in Social Media and News was about drugs and war… But Colombia is much more than that.

The third day of my trip, we had an interesting conference about The Urban Transformation of Medellin that lasted 4 hours. Then we did a city tour. We started by Botero Plaza, which is located in an area known as the “Old Quarter of Medellin”. The Plaza is a park in front of Museo de Antioquia, displaying 23 abstract bronze sculptures created by World-renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero. In the area there is a lot of informal commerce, you can buy souvenirs, and you can also take nice photos.

Afterwards we had the Metrocable tour. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Medellin Metrocable Tour if we didn’t jump on the Metrocable, would it? In 2013 Medellin was named the most innovative city in the world, largely because of the leaps it made to mobilise people from poorer areas of the city in order for them to have access to work, education and cultural activities.

One of the main reasons the city won the title was because of the metrocable systems, along with other means of transport available in the city – including a 28-story escalator and the aforementioned metro train system. We floated above the comunas of Medellin, once considered the most dangerous parts of the city, and shared the carriages with locals making their trips back home.

We did a round trip of the area before returning back to the cable station, swinging above the houses below with their brightly-coloured doors and corrugated iron roofs, some held down with bricks and pieces of concrete.

Comuna 13 of Medellin was once known as the most dangerous place in the entire world. Plagued by paramilitary, gang and guerrilla violence through the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s, the people of Comuna 13 were afraid to leave their homes. After the death of Pablo Escobar, the community only became more dangerous and violent as different factions fought for control.

Today the community has pulled away from its painful past and is in a state of transformation. The streets are alive with vendors, dancing and beautiful artwork. Kids are playing in the streets at local parks. The people of Comuna 13 now feel safe, proud and are looking forward to a prosperous future.

After the metrocable tour, it was time for the Graffiti tour. We walked around the streets of Comuna 13 and watched all the outstanding street art made by the locals. The neighborhood was packed with street art, definitely a must see if you go to Medellin.

Once one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world, now became a must visit place in the Latin America, not only because it is colorful, but also because it’s an inspiration to those who get a chance to meet locals that share with you their history, their early pain but also their perseverance that changed the whole spirit of the neighbourhood! Through Art, colors, projects and hopes they are fighting to develop a great future for all generations and be an example to many other countries.

The people of Medellin have lived through difficult times that most of us couldn’t even imagine. Their kindness, positivity and optimism in the wake of such a troubled history has left us humbled and inspired.❤️

Also here are some restaurants that you must try when you visit Medellin:

– La Provincia

– Burdo

– Ocio

– Carmen

– El Mercado Del Río : if you are looking for a food sensation in Medellin, look no further. This place has everything: Traditional Colombian, Mexican, Peruvian, any kind you want. There are also some small bars if you want to go for a drink. I really liked the ambiance.

I hope you enjoy Medellin as I did. The next post will be in the magical Cartagena, stay tuned ❤

Wow, I never thought Columbia to be a city of wonders. The beautiful street art and houses seem like mountains. People are also quite friendly I think.
Its always good to come across an engaging post.
Thank you.

This is such a timely post for me, I’m so excited to find it! We are headed to Colombia this year and I can’t wait! Your photos are really amazing. We love art and I’m especially excited to see the street art here – so much and so colorful! Crazy but…..can you tell me about your outfit? I love the color!

Looks absolutely beautiful. I was invited to a wedding in Medellin but unfortunately we couldn’t make it. The comunas look stunning from the view of the cable car despite it being one of the most dangerous places on earth. I’m glad you enjoyed your time there. One day…. I will make it! BTW, you hair looks gorgeous! LOL

Your post is lovely with great photography and itinerary. I would love to visit Columbia – the only thing that sometimes bothers my travel partner is the safety angle
But I can see you had a great time so we will plan something soon

Thanks a lot I really appreciate your comment!! You have nothing to worry about! Colombia for me was super safe I don’t remember that i passed through a street and I felt uncomfortable. everywhere I went was safe, you should go for it.

Great post. Colombia has been on my bucket list for so long now. You have made me want to book that flight right now! Everything about it seems to be amazing; street art, cute little streets, sipping wine, learning Salsa, delving into the history! Thanks for this post, it is so well written.

Wow! The cable car ride looks stunning. I did a similar ride in Rio de Janeiro over the Favela do Alemao a couple of years back. While it is beautiful to see it is also hard to imagine how hard the lives of the people are who live there…

What an incredible places, it’s so nice there. I’m pretty sure you had a lot of fun. My favorite part is perhaps the mural street art they look so good. You can really see how artistic and talented the people who made them. Would love to visit Colombia one day!

Colombia looks incredible! I think it’s kind of like Detroit and how it has such a bad rap and nobody ever wants to go see for themselves what it’s really about, they just see the destruction on the news and think that it’s right! But Columbia is very in right now for travel seasons so maybe that’ll change perceptions.